Three skiers hospitalized after skiing accident

BEIRUT, Dec 31, 2012 (The Daily Star - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --
A group of 10 skiers were found Sunday after going missing, with three taken to hospital, one in critical condition, after they fell into an icy ravine in Mount Lebanon.

The group -- all university students -- went missing between the villages of Tarshish and Kfarsalwan in Mount Lebanon, with three becoming separated from the group when they slid on ice into a ravine.

Some of the students then established contact with the Lebanese Army and Civil Defense by cellphone, according to the National News Agency, which together dispatched teams to help locate both those who had fallen into the ravine, and the rest of the party.

The local municipality of Tarshish then sent bulldozers to help rescue the three, Faysal Moughrabi, Naji Maher Zeineddine and Daniel Zaitouny, who had all sustained injuries.

Red Cross teams then transported the three to Tal-Shiha hospital in Zahle.

Zaitouny was initially in a critical condition, the NNA added, but his condition later on became stable. The others were said to have sustained broken bones.

In a statement Sunday, the Army encouraged citizens to establish contact with the local Army Command center should similar accidents happen and to save emergency contact numbers on cellphones before going off skiing.

To contact the central Army Command, call 1701, ext. 20335. For the Bekaa region dial 08-901-261, ext. 6603. For Mount Lebanon, call 05-956-126. In north Lebanon, contact the local Army Command on 06-390-848 and in south Lebanon, call 07-725-800, ext. 56031.

In May, a group of skiers -- three Lebanese and one Swiss -- came under fire from the Syrian army as they skied close to the southeastern border with Syria, at Mount Hermon. One of the Lebanese was wounded. The soldiers told the group they had suspected them of smuggling arms across the border, a source said at the time.